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USAToday recently interviewed me for a story they did on California’s on-going drought, “Calif. drought challenges state’s businesses“. From the title you can see that the focus of the article was on how the drought was impacting California’s business and my segment dealt with its impact on homeowners.

While the drought is indeed the worst in California’s history and, given the impact of Climate Change, will undoubtedly be with us forever … there is a sunny side (we live, after all, in California) to this issue. And here is what I’m telling my clients, “This drought is the perfect opportunity for a new beginning.”

A Little Background

Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild, wet winters [a thing of the past] and hot dry summers) and wildfire. Similar plant communities are found in four other Mediterranean climate regions around the world: the Mediterranean Basin, central Chile, the South African Cape Region and in Western and Southern Australia.

Get Real!

This is the reality of our climate and the idea that we can replicate the landscapes of the East Coast with grassy lawns and thirsty plant material, which replicated English landscapes (where there has always been an abundance of rain), simply doesn’t make sense, given where we live and what we’re facing.